If I could wave a magic wand and give you the ability to play an instrument that you don't already know how to play...

[RockViolin]

Then again, having been a thoroughly treble guy, I do get gobs of enjoyment from tending to the the other end of the spectrum. Since I more or less spurned your initial offer Phil I'll pass on the instant skills. But if you could beef up my right thumb a bit and line me up with the appropriate bass...to be something approaching King would be pretty swell, Mark King (Level 42) that is. Yeah, and I'll manage the rest.

[daddymack]

Wait a minute...so this magic wand thing doesn't get me the freakin' instrument, just the mastery of it? BO-GUS!!!

 

I work with a lot of horn players, and the sax guys seem to be the most mentally stable....

[Luke17]

I would love to be able to play Steel Pedal like David Lindley...or percussion proficiently

 

I have been Visiting Puerto Rico since 1997 and bought a second home in Rincón in 2007.

A lot of day and night Jamming goes on on the beaches, plazas, parks, yards etc.

 

I always have my guitar(s) handy but I just fell into the whole percussion/rythym thing..I mean the locals (and some the old time Surfer Gringos That came to Rincón in the late 1960's ) just astound me with the crazy sounds they squeeze out of everyday household items or just stuff lying around the 'jam zone'

 

This is in addition to the standard Guiros, cabasas, calabasas, congas, bongos, steel drums pandieras, etc.

 

I started off slow, trying not to make an ass out of myself, doing finger drumming on my Fender Acoustic,

One day I got brave and brought out a vintage galvanized aluminum bait can about 8 inches long shaped like a squashed can...the removable lid has a series of holes in it to let air/water into the can.

 

I brought that with me from NJ for fishing the beach in PR...had it since I was a kid.

 

I found by hitting the bait can with a drum stick from different angles you can get a variety of different tones/notes out of it, depending how you grip the can you get a muffled sound or a sharp rap/clang not unlike a cow bell.

 

I made my way into the local music get togethers with that 'Old Pal' brand bait can from the 1950s.

 

Still learning, and getting a host of new sounds out of it...I have been scouring my local Flea Markets in NJ looking for a 'back up'.

Always makes me happy when one of the Local dudes tells me, 'Luke, don't forget your can tonight.'

 

The guys and girls are gracious in teaching me some tips on the bongos, congas and the local percussion instruments, they say I am a natural percussionist, ( for a Gringo:-) ) just need a little local finesse. :-)

 

My wife has been giving me Cuatro lessons for about a year now too...getting better, lots of nuances to learn to play it properly.

[MikeRivers]

Actually, now that I think about it, I'd just like to play guitar as well now as I did in the 60s. Back then I never went a day without playing for at least an hour, learning a song, amusing myself with some old songs, working out an arrangement. But today I can go a month without picking up an instrument, and, boy, when I go to a jam like I did this afternoon, it really shows. There are certain fundamental things about playing backup that I haven't lost, but my finger style has totally gone to pot, and I can no longer flat pick a tune like Doc and I used to, not even slowly to teach it to a fiddler.

 

It's not just my imagingation. I have some tapes to prove that I used to be pretty darn good. But. honestly, I'm just not inspired to play every day any more. Like with everything else that you used to do in your 20s and 30s - time changes everything.

[davd_indigo]

I just discovered the Wood Brothers on NPR tonight. But this guitar player is doing what I'd be able to do after this magical spell descended on me. He creates a rhythmic drive with his fingers that I don't think could be created with a flat pick.

 

I'm an instant convert to these guys. And they're from Nashville.

 

[video=youtube;Ir_P73OV7ww]

[techristian]

KEYBOARDS !!

 

I have enough of them and I suppose I have a unique rythmic style of playing them...but real facility would be nice.

 

DAN

[Phil O'Keefe]

Beautiful!

[Mark L]

Piano

[Luke17]

Accordian and Bagpipes are conspicuous in their absence.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Then again' date=' having been a thoroughly treble guy, I do get gobs of enjoyment from tending to the the other end of the spectrum. Since I more or less spurned your initial offer Phil I'll pass on the instant skills. But if you could beef up my right thumb a bit and line me up with the appropriate bass...to be something approaching King would be pretty swell, Mark King (Level 42) that is. Yeah, and I'll manage the rest. [/quote']

 

So you'd be most interested in bass, but mainly slap bass? How about some Jameson fingering, or plectrum bass too - or do you just want to learn how to slap and pop?

 

 

[Phil O'Keefe]

Accordian and Bagpipes are conspicuous in their absence.

 

Pipes would be fun, but learning it would most definitely not be fun - for anyone. Or anyone in the general area...

 

[Phil O'Keefe]

Sounds interesting - I'd like to hear what those cans (and jams) sound like!

 

Oh, BTW, I was curious as to what they looked like, so I did a Google search. Check out Ebay - you might find a backup can there. They have several Old Pal bait cans listed.

 

https://www.ebay.com/b/Old-Pal-Fishing-Bait-Buckets/179986/bn_83406917

 

[RockViolin]

 

So you'd be most interested in bass, but mainly slap bass? How about some Jameson fingering, or plectrum bass too - or do you just want to learn how to slap and pop?

 

 

I 'd be most interested in door #1. Being able to be me again for longer than a few minutes. Lots longer. But, well...all the King's men and his horses came up short so, it might be a tall order, even for a magic wand.

 

Yeah, I should probably go with all 3 behind door #2. Slap and pop always seems like so much fun and it lights things up in a hurry, but it isn't right for every song and can get old fast.

 

This has been good food for thought. My mother died recently and I have a bit of inheritance coming. I think she'd want some music to keep happening for me (she was a piano teacher for 72 years). I'd been thinking about a small array of mandos. I have an Epiphone Mandobird and I can play it all day. I'm a clod with it compared to the violin though. I mostly have to work on picking since the fingering is roughly the same, bending aside. Anyway, I think I'll still be doing that, a door #3 of my own making as it were. Kinda hooked on the bass angle though. Maybe I'll be able to do both.

[Phil O'Keefe]

This has been good food for thought. My mother died recently and I have a bit of inheritance coming. I think she'd want some music to keep happening for me (she was a piano teacher for 72 years). I'd been thinking about a small array of mandos. I have an Epiphone Mandobird and I can play it all day. I'm a clod with it compared to the violin though. I mostly have to work on picking since the fingering is roughly the same, bending aside. Anyway, I think I'll still be doing that, a door #3 of my own making as it were. Kinda hooked on the bass angle though. Maybe I'll be able to do both.

 

As a violinist, bass should be a relatively easy transition, and mandolin would be even easier I'd think, although I can see where picking technique would be something new and challenging for you.

 

I'm sorry for your recent loss.

 

 

[daddymack]

and rightly so...

[MrHarryReems]

For me, it would be violin. In my mind, it's got to be the most beautiful instrument in the hands of the right player. The fiddle player in my band says I'm far too old to start. He says that coming from guitar I might be able to get the fretting down, but I need a lifetime to get the bowing right.

[Luke17]

 

Pipes would be fun, but learning it would most definitely not be fun - for anyone. Or anyone in the general area...

haha..My parents/Grandparents came from the Pocono Mts. Pa. area by way of Germany/East Prussia.

 

At least one male in the family was supposed to be a Priest or an Accordian player.

It was preordained.

 

Lawrence Welk was a God like figure...you bowed your head when you mentioned his name.

 

Some of the accordians were virtual works of art, mother of pearl, gold plating, the player/ owners names in lavish script on the instruments.

The cases were like King Tuts sarcophagus..gilded, croc skinned, More gilt .. and broadly monogrammed.

 

Only Bag pipers around were the Irish Pa. State Troopers that played at parades and funerals..

They were a smart looking, well drilled unit..all spit and polish ..but the Deutsch accordian players were the local 'Rock Stars'

 

[Luke17]

hey, thanks Phil...just saw this comment..the can is not unlike the 60 dollar can with the red wooden/ metal handle except that mine is smaller and has a military type canvas adjustable strap which I wrap around my left fist and beat with my right hand...MORE COWBELL!

 

thanks for posting the eBay list Phil, I have the concave green waist mounted one in my collection too.

As far as hearing /seeing the music, all that I could possibly muster would be some cell phone vids that mi esposa recorded on certain occasions.

hey, just found it on eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Old-Pal-Woodstream-Wading-Bait-Can-with-Strap/263531289773?_trkparms=pageci%3A9d0d689d-2654-11e8-aab8-74dbd180f925%7Cparentrq%3A1cbca8da1620abc5a75a72aefffce81c%7Ciid%3A1&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236.

thanks Phil.

[RockViolin]

 

As a violinist, bass should be a relatively easy transition, and mandolin would be even easier I'd think, although I can see where picking technique would be something new and challenging for you.

 

I'm sorry for your recent loss.

 

 

Bass is tuned in 4ths, instead of 5ths like the violin, and like the guitar just feels humongous in my hands, and yeah, a bow feeling like it's a part of my body gets me nowhere with a pick.

 

I have to be realistic in the sense that nothing is likely going to be like an instrument I started when I was 5 and had years of training and practice with.

 

Not that it isn't a struggle at times, but I'd rather be the guy that chinned up and decided one way or another to keep learning and exploring than the guy that was utterly shutdown and crushed. And after all, I did have some time on stage, most of the time a rather nice stage and I'm fortunate to have had that time compared with so many who never even had the chance.

 

It's a good thing I like learning though.

 

And thanks, Phil. Apart from being my Mother, she was truly one of a kind. 35-40 lessons a week, 40 some odd weeks a year- for 72 years. And to my knowledge there was nary a student that could complain.

 

[RockViolin]

For me' date=' it would be violin. In my mind, it's got to be the most beautiful instrument in the hands of the right player. The fiddle player in my band says I'm far too old to start. He says that coming from guitar I might be able to get the fretting down, but I need a lifetime to get the bowing right.[/quote']

 

While there are some fretted electric violins, the violins that are behind so much beautiful music and are particularly responsive to the players whose hands they are in don't have frets. From intermediate to the most refined level, the fingering and bowing are much the same as far as the grade of the climb is concerned. I'm a bit prejudiced I suppose, but I think that there are few instruments that are as difficult to learn and are ultimately so capable of expressing emotion, once the dues are paid.

 

It's been kind of heart warming to see all the votes for the violin in this thread.

[MrHarryReems]

 

Bass is tuned in 4ths, instead of 5ths like the violin, and like the guitar just feels humongous in my hands, and yeah, a bow feeling like it's a part of my body gets me nowhere with a pick.

 

Funny, when I pick up a mando, I feel like the fingerboard is just too small!

 

 

While there are some fretted electric violins, the violins that are behind so much beautiful music and are particularly responsive to the players whose hands they are in don't have frets. From intermediate to the most refined level, the fingering and bowing are much the same as far as the grade of the climb is concerned. I'm a bit prejudiced I suppose, but I think that there are few instruments that are as difficult to learn and are ultimately so capable of expressing emotion, once the dues are paid.

 

My old fiddle player had a fretted 6 string electric violin. Pretty cool instrument. I don't have any problem with fretless instruments, I have a fretless bass. It takes a few minutes to get used to the intonation, then I'm off. However, I worry about the tiny fingerboard and the fact that I've never held a bow in my life! It doesn't stop me from wanting to give it a try if and when I ever retire.

 

If you ever get to Hawaii, look me up, you'd be more than welcome at our Thursday night session!

[Phil O'Keefe]

haha..My parents/Grandparents came from the Pocono Mts. Pa. area by way of Germany/East Prussia.

 

At least one male in the family was supposed to be a Priest or an Accordian player.

It was preordained.

 

 

I come from an Irish-American family (surprised? ) and they say every Irish-American family should have a priest, poet, police officer and fireman... we had all of the above, except for the priest.

 

Lawrence Welk was a God like figure...you bowed your head when you mentioned his name.

 

My grandparents watched him every week. I really wasn't a fan at the time, although in retrospect, I appreciate the musicianship of his band members.

 

My wife actually did a few live performances with Welk, appeared as a guest on the show, and was even asked to become a cast member, but turned the offer down to take a record deal with RCA. This all happened when she was in her teens.

 

Some of the accordians were virtual works of art, mother of pearl, gold plating, the player/ owners names in lavish script on the instruments.

The cases were like King Tuts sarcophagus..gilded, croc skinned, More gilt .. and broadly monogrammed.

 

Only Bag pipers around were the Irish Pa. State Troopers that played at parades and funerals..

They were a smart looking, well drilled unit..all spit and polish ..but the Deutsch accordian players were the local 'Rock Stars'

 

I've seen some of those accordions - they had an amazing amount of ornamentation on them.

 

[Luke17]

Wow, cool story about your wife, Phil...I'm sure she made the right choice by going with the RCA deal.

I know it was required watching of the LW show at Luke Manor...every Sunday Night, so I probably saw your wife on one of her guest appearances.

 

You are right about the competent musicianship... the two guitarists, Buddy Merrill and Neil Levang were awesome.

Buddy was first, he went into the Army and was replaced by Neil.

 

When Buddy was discharged, LW, Paternalistic dude that he was, kept them both on...some cool guitar duets came out of thise guys.

 

They also had an array of beautiful Fender guitars, supplied by Leo, Jaguars, Teles, Strats, Jazzmasters...oh, and the Fender Amps..just some awesome gear.

PS..love the line about the Irish family occupations..a cliche but so true. :~}

[RockViolin]

 

Funny, when I pick up a mando, I feel like the fingerboard is just too small!

 

 

 

My old fiddle player had a fretted 6 string electric violin. Pretty cool instrument. I don't have any problem with fretless instruments, I have a fretless bass. It takes a few minutes to get used to the intonation, then I'm off. However, I worry about the tiny fingerboard and the fact that I've never held a bow in my life! It doesn't stop me from wanting to give it a try if and when I ever retire.

 

If you ever get to Hawaii, look me up, you'd be more than welcome at our Thursday night session!

 

Sometimes I think the physique adapts to the instrument it's regularly in contact with. Cellists and bassists often have what appear to be enlarged finger pads I've noticed. So it's more than unfamiliarity I think.

 

Was the 6 string a flying v? I had a 5 string fretless of that type for a short while that had so many issues...the less said of the better. I had high hopes and was quite disappointed.

 

Thanks for the invitation! I should probably have Phil work me over with his magic wand first though. But, unlike teh banemhammer, I suspect it doesn't really work.

 

But maybe with a couple fistfuls of vitamin I (Advil) and maybe some 'o that Maui Wowie I could manage a set.

 

 

[ggm1960]

 

If you ever get to Hawaii, look me up, you'd be more than welcome at our Thursday night session!

 

I'm leaving Thursday.